Social marketing: our team in Benin applies the advice of Jan Flamend!

The training on social marketing by Jan Flamend, CEO of ValueSelling, has given a boost to the way of working of our collaborators in Benin. The training took place from 15 to 18 February 2021 at the CIAP or ‘Centre Innov’Action de Parakou, ‘our Foundation’s centre in Parakou.

Jan Flamend immersed our employees in some new theories and methods to strengthen their professional knowhow and competences. After three months, the team takes stock.

Our collaborators are enthusiastic about the concepts of social marketing

Antoinette Chabi, responsible for education at our Foundation in Benin, is the first to share her experiences. She thanks Jan for teaching her the concept of mind mapping. “Thanks to the mind map I can organise my work and communication much better. I am really very enthusiastic about the mind map. The mindmap has become an indispensable tool for me. It is a handy method that helps you build up your communication. I have also learned how to convince a client using the CAEP method= Caractéristiques (characteristics), Avantages (advantages), Exigences (requirements) and Preuves (proofs). “Antoinette plans to use this method very soon to convince potential donors to invest in the Foundation’s projects.

Like Antoinette, Samadou Sidi, active in the Foundation’s agriculture domain, also uses what he learned from Jan to achieve better results in his work.
He tries to keep in mind that as a salesman one

• has to take into account the needs of your customer;
• has to engage in dialogue with the customer from the very first contact;
• has to be able to prove the quality or the added value of your product by means of, for example, figures, images, video reports, testimonies, etc;
• better uses the CPFC method (Certainty, Performance, Financial and Convenience) and the AIDA method (Attention, Interest, Desire and Action). »

Our team is already applying the new techniques and methods in practice!

Eric Dossou-Gbété, nutritionist at the Foundation, learned a lot from Jan Flamend. He especially remembers that, as a salesman, you have to be aware of the fact that the price is the main concern of the potential buyer. As a good salesman, you must therefore emphasise the value of the product. You have to find a balance between price and value. For example, Eric now emphasises the consequences of malnutrition much more to make mothers aware of the serious risks children run by eating unbalanced food. In this way, he shows them the value and importance of a balanced diet. “I am now better able to help women address their problems.”

For Moussa Ousmane Yaya the social marketing training came at the right time. He especially learned that a fluent discourse and a solid argument are important to highlight the value of what you want to sell. He also remembers that Jan stressed that you should not only speak, but above all, give your potential customer the opportunity to express his needs and to ask additional questions.

Moussa is already intensively applying what he has learned. He notices that his way of working is now more efficient and effective. “During my awareness-raising campaigns, I now avoid talking too much myself. I now mainly listen to the producers. I also use mind maps during my training sessions. And I use the AIDA method when giving support and advice. In concrete terms, this means that I pay Attention to my listeners, try to arouse their Interest and show them what they can gain so that their Interest turns into a Desire (Désir) and they finally take Action. »

Marcienne Houenou, the Director of our Foundation in Benin, like her colleagues, followed Jan Flamend’s social marketing training with great interest. She was particularly attracted by the theory of the four dimensions that make up the value of a product, the CPFC: Certitude (certainty), Performance (achievement), Financière (financial dimension) and Convenance (suitability). “These four elements should be taken into account when you present your product to the potential customer,” she says. “They help you to prepare and conduct your conversation with a customer or partner and to identify his exact needs. “Marcienne was also impressed by the REC (Results, Efforts, Competencies) model to define strategies and objectives and the IQAOC (Introduction, Question, Argumentation, Objection and Conclusion) model to build up an interview.

She is very pleased that she and her team were able to follow Jan’s training. Also a training on behavioural change they followed in May with Ingrid Hofkens was highly appreciated.